• biography

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    The composer and conductor Josep Planells Schiaffino has collaborated with a number of ensembles and orchestras, among them the WDR Sinfonierochester Köln, Basel Sinfonietta, Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Orquesta Nacional de España, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquesta de Valencia, Bayerisches Landesjugendorchester, Sächsische Bläserphilharmonie, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Mosaik, Zafraan Ensemble, Remix Ensemble, Danubia Orchestra Óbuda and the Kritisches Orchester at the Theater Basel, Kölner Philharmonie, Fondation Royaumont, Lucerne Festival, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Fundación Juan March, Rudolf-Oetker-Halle, Bockenheimer Depot, Frankfurt LAB, Auditorio Nacional de España, Palau de la Música de València, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Casa da Música Porto, Palau de Les Arts and the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, among others.

     

    For his music, he has been awarded many distinctions, including the Roche Young Commission of the Lucerne Festival, the New Scenes IV of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the DAAD-Prize, 1st Prize “Vorhof der Völker” Berlin, 3rd Prize in the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerb and the 1st Prize in the INJUVE Competition. His commissioned works include a piece for the conducting workshop INTERAKTION, Zafraan Ensemble, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Orquesta Nacional de España, INAEM, Sigma Project, Vibrart, Trio Musicalis, CNDM and for the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, where he resided as part of the Composer's residence of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes.

     

    As a conductor, Josep Planells Schiaffino assisted Franck Ollu from 2017 to 2020, with whom he participated in the productions of Rihm's Jakob Lenz at the Staatsoper Berlin (Dir. Andrea Breth), Dusapin's Medea at Salzburg Festspiele and Macbeth Underworld at the Opéra Comique Paris (Dir. Thomas Jolly), with the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin for the Festival Ultraschall and in the Xenakis' Oresteia at the Theater Basel (Dir. Calixto Bieito), making his opera debut when he conducted two performances in April 2017. He studied with Fred Buttkewitz in Berlin and took part in several master classes with Peter Rundel in Oporto and with Peter Eötvös in Budapest and Munich. 2015 he won the 1st Interpretation Prize in the Hanns Eisler Competition. 2019 he worked with Matthias Pintscher and Heinz Holliger as part of the Lucerne Festival Conducting Fellowship.

     

    Over the last years, he has regularly collaborated with the Ensemble Modern, with whom he has participated in projects such as Story Water (Emanuel Gat Dance) and Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company meets Ensemble Modern by Jacopo Godani. In 2020 he made his operatic debut in Spain, conducting Die Zauberflöte at the Teatre Principal in Palma de Mallorca (in a co-production with Opera Zuid Maastricht). Since 2022, he has been working regularly at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. In the 2021-22 season he made his debut in the Foyer of the Gran Teatre del Liceu conducting the premiere of the chamber opera Entre los árboles, by José Río Pareja. In 2023, he assisted Josep Pons in the award-winning production of Parsifal and recently worked with Pierre Bleuse on the premiere of Orgia by Hèctor Parra. Last season he also made his conducting debut at the Pierre Boulez Saal.

     

    Born in Valencia in 1988, Josep Planells Schiaffino obtained his Clarinet Diploma at the Conservatori Superior de Música “Joaquín Rodrigo” and his Composition Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree under the guidance of Arnulf Hermann and Hanspeter Kyburz at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. During this time he also received tuition from Salvatore Sciarrino, Brian Ferneyhough and Wolfgang Rihm. He obtained support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, Förderverein of the HfM “Hanns Eisler”, La Caixa/DAAD, State of Berlin’s “Elsa-Neumann-Scholarship” and and the Peter Eötvös Foundation. He completed a PhD at Cambridge University supervised by Richard Causton and funded by an Honorary Vice-Chancellor's Award of the Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust and a Pigott Doctoral Studentship.

     

    During the academic year 2021-22 he worked as Guest Professor of Composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC) and since 2023, he has conducted various projects at the Conservatori del Liceu. He has also given lectures at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León, Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the University of Cambridge.

  • CURRENT PROJECTS

    La Invención de Morel

    I have been awarded a 'Beca Leonardo' from the BBVA Foundation to compose a chamber opera based on Adolfo Bioy Casares' novel 'The Invention of Morel'. It will be my second opera after Aufbruch, premiered in 2019 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

    For further information: https://www.redleonardo.es/beneficiario/josep-planells-schiaffino/

    Arlecchino, for ensemble (WP)

    New commissioned piece for the Ensemble Sonido Extremo and the CNDM. Concerts on: 2 February (MEIAC, Badajoz), 3 February (Jornadas de Música Contemporánea de Segovia), 30 August (Festival de Santander) and 30 November (Espacio Turina, Sevilla) 2024. Jordi Francés, conductor

    Further Performances: 11 November (Kühlhaus, Berlin). Zafraan Ensemble and Miguel Pérez Iñesta.

    Orquesta Nacional de España

    Conducting debut with the Orquesta Nacional de España. Works by Posadas (WP), Guerrero, Albéniz and Xenakis. Florian Hölscher, piano. 14 June 2024. Auditorio Nacional, Madrid.

    Atlas Mnemosyne, for choir and orchestra (WP)

    Commissioned by the Institut Valencià de Cultura as part of the Composer-in-Residence programme. Jove Orquestra de la Generalitat Valenciana and Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana. Concerts in July 2024 in Valencia (Palau de la Música), Torrevieja and Alicante (ADDA). Pablo Rus, conductor.

    CD release in December 2024

    Conservatori Liceu Symphony Orchestra

    Beethoven Symphony No. 7. 20 December 2024. Conservatori Liceu, Barcelona

    Ensemble Liceu XXI

    Program to be confirmed. 21 February 2025. Conservatori Liceu, Barcelona

    Festival Ljubljana

    Works by Torelli, Granados, Albinoni and de Falla. Ensemble Dissonance, Vicente Campos (trumpet) and Lidia Rodríguez González (cantaora). 21 February 2024. Slovenian Philharmonic, Ljubljana

    Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa

    Musikagileak. 26 September 2024. Teatro Campos Elíseos, Bilbao

    Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

    Assistant Conductor to Josep Pons (featuring Jakubiak, Cernoch, Botnarciuc, Selivanov, et al.). September-October 2024. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona.

  • compositions

    OPERA

    La invención de Morel

    2021-

    Work in progress

    Aufbruch

    2017-2019

    chamber opera in 13 scenes after a libretto of Deborah Kötting 

     

    for soprano (Violetta), tenor (Friedrich), baritone (Hans), 2 dancers, 2 actors and ensemble

    (1/1/1/1 - 1/1/1/1 - Perc(2) - Pno/Hp - 2/1/1/1)

    Duration: 50'

  • ORCHESTRA

    Contrafactum I: de Cabanilles

    2023

    (2/2/2/2 - 2/2/2/0 - Perc (3) – Cel/Hp - 8/8/6/4/3)

    Duration: 13'

    Con sprezzatura

    2019-2021

    (2/2/2/2 - 2/2/2/1 - Timp/Perc (2) – Pno/Cel/Acc/Hp - 6/6/4/4/2)

    Duration: 18'

    Torna

    2017-2019

    (4/3/4/3 - 4/3/3/1 - Timp/Perc (4) – Pno/Cel/Hp - 14/12/10/8/6)

    Duration: 16'30''

    Schlussformen

    2014-2015

    (3/3/3/3 - 4/3/3/1 - Timp/Perc (2) – Hp - 12/10/8/6/4)

    Duration: 15'

    Variationen

    2011

    (2/2/2/2 - 2/2/2/0 - Timp/Perc (2) – 12/10/8/6/4)

    Duration: 12'

  • ENSEMBLE

    Nu

    2021

    for 10 musicians (1/0/1/0 - 0/1/1/0 - 2 Perc -Cel- 1/0/1/1)

    Duration: 8'30''

    Vergessensformen

    2016

    for ensemble (1/1/1/1 - 1/0/0/0 - Perc - 2/1/1/1)

    Duration: 9'

    Vier Stücke

    2014

    for 11 musicians (0/2/0/0 - 1/1/0/0 - Timp – 2/1/2/1)

    Duration: 8'30''

    Flamme Violette

    2011

    version for piano and 5 instruments (Fl/Cl/Vl/Vc/Perc)

    Duration: 7'30''

    Nocturnes

    2010

    for ensemble (1/1/1/1 - 1/1/1/1- Perc/Pno - 2/1/1/1)

    Duration: 9'

    Stramps

    2009

    for 8 musicians (1/0/1/0 - 0/0/0/0 - Perc/Pno - 2/1/1)

    Duration: 8'

  • SOLO & CHAMBER MUSIC

    Fabula

    2022

    for violin, bass clarinet and piano

    Duration: 12'

    Album

    2020

    for piano trio

    Duration: 17'

    Cavall

    2018

    for tenor saxophone, drum set, double bass and piano

    Duration: 6'

    Streichquartett

    2016/18

    for string quartet

    Duration: 14'

    Sextett

    2017

    for wind quintet and piano

    Duration: 13'

    Drei Stücke

    2016

    for cello and piano

    Duration: 8'

    Zehn Stücke

    2016

    for saxophone quartet

    Duration: 17'

    Satz

    2015

    for violin and piano

    Duration: 7'30''

    Vorspiel

    2014

    for brass trio

    Duration: 3'30''

    Triosatz

    2013

    for violin, cello and piano

    Duration: 8'

    Quintet

    2013

    for wind quintet

    Duration: 12'

    Stade du miroir

    2012

    for 2 sopranos, 2 saxophones and percussion

    Duration: 9'

    Quartettsatz

    2011

    for string quartet

    Duration: 10'

    Flamme Violette

    2010

    for piano

    Duration: 7'30''

  • videos

    COMPOSER

    Con sprezzatura (WDR)

    2021

    WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Baldur Brönnimann

    Con sprezzatura (OCNE)

    2021

    Orquesta Nacional de España, Anja Bihlmaier

  • CONDUCTOR

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    Ligeti's Violin Concerto

    2017

    Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Violin.

    Lucerne. Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra

    Bartók & Debussy on rehearsal

    2016/2017

    Bartók's 2nd Violin concerto and Debussy's Khamma

    Lachenmann's ,,...zwei Gefühle..."

    2017

    Danubia Orchestra Óbuda, Helmut Lachenmann

    Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company meets Ensemble Modern

    2019

    Ensemble Modern (Jacopo Godani, choreography).

    Music: Johannes Schöllhorn/Johann Sebastian Bach

    Die Zauberflöte (teaser)

    2020

    Teatre Principal de Palma de Mallorca, Orquestra Simfònica de Les Illes Balears

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